An animation professional known for her desire to give forward to pros and fans alike, Shannon has expanded her reach to writing prose, and showcasing those authors as well. Read interviews and guest posts from INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS, plus Shannon's own content.

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The emotionally-wounded survivors of the 9/11 attacks include a fifty-year old, South African Muslim scientist, Leila, who lost her fiancée, Khalid, on that fateful day. She is the narrator of a story threading together the lives of four South African Muslims navigating a technologically advanced and increasingly-complicated world.

Initially tentative in pursuing her dream to aid patients with HIV/AIDS and other diseases (following deaths of loved ones to these illnesses) in the face of adversity encountered as a US immigrant, Leila finally asserts herself in middle age to carve her own identity and provide possible solutions to the management of diseases rampant in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Interview with the Author:

What initially got you interested in writing?

A pen, a napkin, and an over-active imagination. I am kidding, of course.

Life as a child in pre-Internet South Africa consisted of either being good at sports or academic life. Since I tended to have my nose stuck in Alan Paton, Antjie Krog, or any fill-in-the-blank leading South African author’s books that I could lay my hands on in the local library, it followed naturally that I would try to emulate their works. However, writing more technical works seem to be a better fit for my writing style.

How did you decide to make the move into being a published author?

It was a gradual process. I started writing a blog that seemed to attract readers. One blog post became ten and then twenty and so on. Over time, I thought it might be a good idea to frame some of the self-contained stories that had a South African flavor into a book. That is when my first book, “The Heroine Next Door,” started to take shape.

What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

Understanding is the foundation of good relationships and fosters peaceful societies. Treating others as one would treat oneself – the common thread that binds atheists and theists– is an important tool in accomplishing that frame of mind. The themes of nationality, immigration, religion, sexuality, history, and illness that run through “The Heroine Next Door” and the companion non-fiction books, “Perspectives on Type 2 Diabetes” and the HIV/TB/Diabetes resource kit, illustrate the difficulty in achieving understanding, even among reasonable people. In an ideal world everyone, regardless of their beliefs, would set aside grievances to pro-actively fix major problems in their respective countries. Access to 24/7 news flashes on digital devices underscores the harsh opposite truth.

However, human beings can and do learn from their mistakes. We are blessed with access to technologies that could have a child in Kuala Lumpur communicate with one in Australia on how best to solve a math problem or entrepeneurs mine the collective wisdom of others to take their ideas to the next level. Leila, the main character in “The Heroine Next Door,” is a fictional example of a global citizen transcending complex circumstances to contribute to meaningful solutions in her country. I am sure that there are thousands, if not millions of Leilas around the world and, with the gift of the Internet, we can find them sooner rather than later.

Finally, I have deliberately over-referenced all of my books to spur the imaginations of interested parties to either pursue these topics further or reframe it in their own voices.

What do you find most rewarding about writing?

The catharsis that comes from being able to articulate prose that reflects one’s inner thoughts and that can be understood by others, even if they are critical of those sentiments, is something that cannot easily be described in words.

What do you find most challenging about writing?

My focus is on integrating modernity with history, science, myths, and religion in fictional and non-fictional settings. These “heavy” topics are not fodder for easy writing or reading. Had I been a true novelist, my answer probably would have been the crafting of fully-developed characters and emotional plot twists that will have readers craving more action. However, I am honing my craft and delighted to see that poetry collections with themes about refugees, science, and society are garnering attention (“Mist over Peace” and “Scatterlings”).

What advice would you give to people want to enter the field?

If you are a born writer, you do not need advice from me. Believing in your vision and putting in the long hours necessary to realize that vision on paper are necessary qualities for any aspiring writer.

I find the reader to the best guide for any author. The spouse or relative who frowns in confusion over an unexplained plot twist or diligently deletes extra punctuation marks are indispensable to any indie author.

Praise for The Heroine Next Door by Zeena Nackerdien:

“As a scientist turned patient advocate and writer, Nackerdien is intensely interested in building relationships with people from different cultures through storytelling and education. It is that drive that is palpable in this novel THE HEROINE NEXT DOOR – the author’s dichotomous life as experienced in apartheid-South-Africa and a Western world responding to the digital information age and emergent diseases: she knows terror, especially as a Muslim woman. She incorporates all of this In THE HEROINE NEXT DOOR, surprisingly her debut novel, by creating a fictional character, Leila, emerging from the darkness cast by personal and political upheavals, who gains a sense of her own identity and contributes knowledge gained in the USA to improving the management of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and other illnesses in South Africa.
One of the many shining aspects of Zeena’s luminous novel is her sharing the sensibilities of immigrants whose new life in a new country must sort out not only language and dress barriers but also religious or spiritual belief differences. In electing to focus on that turning point moment in history – the 9/11 tragedy – as the stimulus for altering life perspectives she manages to give us all a better sense of understanding and at least a different point of view – both healing factors in a nurturing a wound worthy of comparison to Amfortas’ wound in PARSIFAL. Highly recommended.” –Grady Harp, Amazon Top 100 Reviewer, Hall of Fame

“I am able to identify with both the notion of being personally and/or emotionally uprooted on and after 9/11 as well as the concept of being utterly overwhelmed by life in NYC. Zeena Nackerdien’s work rings a personal note with both natives and those making the journey to establishing themselves in the metropolis.”-Curt, Amazon Reviewer

” What a haunting story. We all remember that fateful day. We are introduced to Leila, a brilliant woman whose life is turned upside down on September 11, 2001 when her fiance is killed in the attack. Through a series of Facebook posts we are taken on a journey that explores Leila’s past, her relationships with family and friends, and her background in the field of science. Heartwarming and raw, you will find yourself in a great story of triumph. Zeena Nackerdien has written a wonderful story, highly recommend this read!”- Sierra Klein, Amazon Reviewer

About Zeena Nackerdien:

Zeena Nackerdien is a dual US and South African citizen. She obtained a PhD degree in Biochemistry from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Zeena has been a research chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland and a senior research associate at The Rockefeller University in New York.

She is the author of several publications in scientific journals and two poetry collections, “Mist Over Peace” and “Scatterlings.” As a scientist turned patient advocate and writer, she is intensely interested in building relationships with people from different cultures through story-telling and education. Zeena currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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SHANNON MUIR began working in animation on shows like EXTREME GHOSTBUSTERS and INVADER ZIM, worked on the virtual world NEOPETS/PETPET PARK, and now has credits writing for animation and short stories.

VISIT SHANNON MUIR’S AUTHOR SITE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HER MYSTERY AND CRIME WRITING!